Musical Wednesday? Psonatina.

Busy holidays = me not getting a song up on Monday! So as a bit of an apology, or (as I prefer to think of it) my Christmas gift to you, here are not 1, not 2, but 3 mp3s! One song in three movements.

I actually got the tune to the 1st movement in my head while showering one morning, and when it didn't go away after a couple of weeks, I wrote it down. It reminded me of the old sonatinas I used to play in piano lessons, so as I fleshed out the piece, I tried to keep the same old "sonatina" feel. I knew right away I wanted to do 3 movements, and after finishing the 1st movement, I came up with the final line of the 2nd movement and the entire 3rd movement. It was only when everything else was finished that I wrote the 2nd movement, and it remains one of the most unique among my songs. The title is a sort of truncation of "pseudo-sonatina".

» Psonatina (movement 1)
» Psonatina (movement 2)
» Psonatina (movement 3)

total duration: 4:41
total file size: 4.29 MB
written: 2004
recorded: 2004
instrument: piano
recording medium: computer
album art: Yet Still

Musical Monday Archive

HOLY CRAP.

It's here.

The full trailer for next summer's "Transformers" movie just went up this morning.

Midnight, July 3rd: I'm THERE, baby.

Check it out here:
http://video.vividas.com/CDN1/5029_paramount/en/web/
(link thanks to MrBlud of BoNR)

Musical Monday: It Could've Been Better.

Another song from my first album. This one, I actually play from the final chord of last week's song. Though, thematically, the two songs have nothing in common, and were actually written for (about) two different people. (And, in fact, this song was written first.)

» It Could've Been Better

duration: 3:33
file size: 3.25 MB
written: 1994
recorded: 1996
instrument: piano
recording medium: cassette tape
album art: Instant Delirium (Just Add Water)
lyrics:

You left without a sound
A ghost fades in the night
Another one you'd found
You'd found to hold you tight

Oh, woman, can't you see?
You were to be the one for me
I can't see your future
Something else was meant to be

I tried to change your mind
And now it's leaving you
How could you've been so blind?
Your story's all but through

Oh, woman, can't you see?
You were to be the one for me
I can't see your future
Something else was meant to be

It could've been better
It could've been me
It could've been better
Why won't you see?
Now and forever
You're all I see
It could've been better
Oh, it could've been me

Oh, woman, can't you see?
You were to be the one for me
I can't see your future
Something else was meant to be

It could've been better
It could've been me
It could've been better
Why won't you see?
Now and forever
You're all I see
It could've been better
Oh, it could've been me
It could've been better
Oh, it could've been me
It could've been better
Oh, it could've been

Musical Monday Archive

These are AWESOME.

Sarah and I picked these up at Target the other night for like $3 a bag. Hershey's kisses in Candy Cane and Cherry Cordial varieties.

The Candy Cane ones are white chocolate with decorative red swirls and bits of candy cane.

The Cherry Cordial ones are standard Hershey's Kisses, but filled with cherry cordial creme.

Both are absolutely delicious. I can't even recommend one over the other. Get them both.

Musical Monday: Someday.

Now we're talking old. Here's a song from my first album, written back in 1994. It was my first big full-length love song, and remained one of my favorites for quite some time. Though I never sat down and recorded the album, I recorded this song along with a bunch of others by sitting down at the piano with an old cassette deck and a microphone. So the quality's the poorest of any of my recordings; perhaps ironically, I only recorded my (then) favorite songs this way.

» Someday

duration: 4:04
file size: 3.73 MB
written: 1994
recorded: 1996
instrument: piano
recording medium: cassette tape
album art: Instant Delirium (Just Add Water)
lyrics:

You catch me looking at you
Sometimes I can't control
My true feelings, it seems
See you smile, and I want you
But something tells me you're more
So much more than you seem

It shouldn't matter what I want
But I could be what you need

CHORUS:
Sometimes you wanna feel the sun on your face
Throw a smile at the one beside you
Know you're in your place
Someday, I don't know when, but I will find a way
To tear away at the walls around me
Open up and say:
Oh, you
It's for you I long
By your side's
Where I belong
So I write you this song

You're by my side, I wanna hold you
I'd talk, but actions seem to speak
So much more loudly than words
If you're willing, then would you?
Half-completed thoughts spin through my mind
They sound so absurd

But it shouldn't matter what I say
If you still love me, anyway

CHORUS

It shouldn't matter if you care
Or if you turn and walk away
But can't you see my longing stare?
No one else makes me feel this way

Sometimes you wanna feel the sun on your face
To feel a loved one's arms around you,
Lovingly embraced
Sometimes you wanna feel a bit of Heaven's grace
To light the path that leads you home
A warm and tender place
Someday, I don't know when, but I will find a way
To take possession of my fears
And throw them all away
Someday, I hope it's soon, but desperately I pray
That I can look you face-to-face
And open up and say:
Oh, you
It's for you I long
By your side's
Where I belong
I swear
I've done nothing wrong
Can't you see?
This is where I should be
This is where I belong

Musical Monday Archive

MOVED!!

Whew!

An exhausting weekend, if ever there was one! I took Friday off of work, Sarah's grandma took the kids, and the two of us headed to our new house to finish up painting. We got everything finished up (except the hallway and some touch-ups on the ceilings) and then grabbed the bedroom furniture from my parent's house for our new room. That took most of the day. We stayed up packing until 3:00 in the morning before crashing.

Saturday, Sarah and I drove out to pick the moving truck up at 9:00 AM. When we got to the place, we learned that the reservation had been mistakenly made for Monday (our fault) and that there were no trucks available. Fortunately, we called Budget's corporate office, and they were able to find an available truck not too far from us. So it took over an hour, but we got back with a truck. Then Sarah's grandma took the kids out to the zoo for the second day in a row. Elizabeth is always excited about going the zoo, it's so cute. People started showing up around 10:00. Lane, Matt, Anita, and Sarah's brother Jeremy, parents, and aunt Mary. My brother showed up with my parent's van -- a GOOD THING, because we filled the truck and Anita's hatchback and the van and still had a lot left. After unloading down at our house (having lost a lot of people due to busy schedules), we went out for pizza at Old Chicago. Then we ran back up to Golden Valley and filled another vanload before coming home.

Saturday saw us take my parents' van up a third time, fill it with the last of our stuff, and return home. Sarah's parents met us there again, and Sarah and her mom got the kitchen pretty much fixed up while her dad and I unloaded the van and did the handyman-type jobs. We crashed in our bed with the kids just after 10:00 (very early for us) and I had gotten the TV and DVD player hooked up in the bedroom so we could watch Friends.

Whew.

There's still a lot left to do, of course. The living room's close to ready, but downstairs is filled halfway to the ceiling with boxes. We have to get that cleaned up in the next couple days so I can get the computer set up by the time the cable guy comes on Wednesday. Not looking forward to it, but I am looking forward to having everything done.

Wouldn't that be nice?

Musical Monday: Floating.

One more instrumental before I start dipping into some really old stuff next week. This piece was written early in my freshman year of college; I asked a girl I liked to the Homecoming dance, and shortly after she said "yes" I ran to the music hall and wrote this. The title comes from how I was feeling at the time. The original version was only about 30 seconds long; later that year I expanded it into its current, full version.

» Floating

duration: 2:11
file size: 2.00 MB
written: 1997
recorded: 2003
instrument: piano
recording medium: computer
album art: Primary Key

Musical Monday Archive